There are several planned wireless systems on commercial aircraft including WLAN (wireless local area network), cellular, RFID (radio frequency identification), in-flight entertainment, emergency lighting, a number of emerging aircraft health monitoring sensor systems and the like. Individually, each system must contend with a unique aircraft environment. For example, a particular fuselage structure or configuration of the cabin interior may make it difficult to determine the wireless channel characteristics and the overall performance in the aircraft. Temporal effects, such as moving passengers and crew, also complicate this and can have an impact on performance. The problem is exacerbated when multiple systems and protocols are forced to operate in close proximity, as is the case inside an aircraft. This results in concerns over unintentional interference and “data collision.” Because of these factors, there can be a performance degradation with fielded wireless systems and they may not perform as expected.
Currently performance degradation is mitigated in fielded wireless systems through modeling and testing processes. Testing in this context generally involves measuring or estimating performance of a wireless system. Current methods of testing have a number of limitations. Testing processes are often carried out on a wireless system installed in a test vehicle selected out of convenience, but this vehicle rarely matches the specific configuration where the wireless system is to be installed. Furthermore, even when using state-of-the art equipment and experienced personnel, the testing may take an extended period of time. Further, standardization in test processes and data format for a specific type of system may make it more difficult to share common data that could be equally relevant for different types of wireless systems. The current test practices may make it difficult for programs to share test results, causing inefficiencies from a replication of effort.
Therefore, it may be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.